Briefing

"What's the worst sin at the bottom of Dante's inferno? Treachery...one who betrays a trust."—a State Department colleague of Cuban spy Kendall Myers

Cuban spies who pass secrets via shopping cart in a grocery store, a Taiwanese honey trap in DC, a Russian bugging device inside the State Department, classified information popping up in the media—scenes from a spy movie? No, these are just highlights from the most intriguing investigations conducted by retired State Department Special Agent Robert Booth and recounted in his new book State Department Counterintelligence: Leaks, Spies and Lies. Booth reveals the inside story of Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers who spied for Cuba for nearly 30 years and Donald Keyser who lied about his personal relationship with a female Taiwanese intelligence officer with whom he shared State Department information while serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. He’ll tell howWashington Post and Wall Street Journal articles concerning leaked State Department telegrams impacted diplomatic negotiations and how the Russian Intelligence Service, the SVR, installed a bug inside a conference room in the State Department. Booth personally managed or assisted in all these investigations, and he will offer guests insight into the courtroom proceedings for the Myers and Keyser prosecutions including background on court room machinations, prosecution tactics, and how the "plea bargains" were reached.

For additional information and to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.spymuseum.org/calendar/detail/state-department-counterintelligence/2014-11-13/